Out of the Darkness, Into the Light
by Dreamer's Dark Requiem
Summary: Twilight Dragon, heed our pleas. We wish to free these dark chains that encircle us. We wish to free all from the ignorance that clouds all of The World. /"...I'm back..."/ GU,R:2
1. Into the Night

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

Pairings

Couples; Atoli/Haseo, Blackrose/Kite, Shino/Ovan, Pi/Yata, Implied Aina/Bo, Others that will be added at a later dates.

Disclaimer; Hikari, Dante, redesigned Kite&ETC PCs, and plot are mine. Anything else isn't.

Warning; Post-Vol. 3. Lots of things here will spoil it, so if you haven't finished it(or spoiled the ending already), I suggest you don't read. Also, Hikari and Dante make a one-time appearance.

AN; My non-serious .hack fic. It's one of my first, so I hope I get the characters' personalities right...Oh, and yes, characters from earlier games/novels/manga will be showing up, both online and offline.

/EDIT, 10-26-11/Fixing the story…And changed a few things. Read it through again, because I feel a lot better about some of the changes I made. :P

Login 001; Into the Night

* * *

Hikari squeaked in surprise. Dante laughed softly at her surprise. "Calm down, Kari. Just a few low-level monsters. We can take `em."

The newbie adept rogue faux-chuckles, pointing her macrabe dancer fans at the monsters. "Okay...Let's go!" Dante called, smashing his large sword into the strongest of the three monsters.

Outbreak of Battle!

The Adept Rogue targeted one of the two nearby monsters while Dante took down the other. She was almost instantly confused by the strange name. "It's a...what?"

G0#!i$, HP; ?/?

"Dante! Is it normal for monsters to have question marks for their HP?" "Huh? What the heck are you talking about?" He moved away from his own graying corpse, turning to stare at the other two monsters. Neither had moved to attack yet. "This...Is strange. They'd usually attack by now."

"The monster's name is all screwed up. I could only tell the G and the I." Dante frowned. "The HP is strange...Let me see..." The Edge Punisher slammed his sword into one of the two non-moving monsters. It slammed back and the ? changed to a 0.

However, it did not disappear like it was supposed to. Hikari moved forward and attacked the same one, only for the 0 to change to a 10. "It's like it can't decide how much HP it has."

Hikari bit her lip in real life, "How can we fight these things if we can't finish the HP off?" As the two discussed what to do, they didn't notice the other monster approaching them from behind. When it growled right into Dante's ear, he let out a cry of surprise and swung around to attack. His attack went right through the monster.

Which was definitely not normal.

"W-what? Your attack didn't hit it!" She prepared to cast a spell when she felt the other goblin-like monster stab into her back. That's not right...How can I feel that...?"Hikari?" The adept rogue faded to gray, defeated.

"Hikari? Answer m-" He was also stabbed(_Where did they get those weapons?_ He wondered) in the back, and his HP was almost zero`ed out. "No way...This is a level one area! How can their attacks do so much damage?"

As soon as the edge punisher said this, the two goblin monsters literally jumped on him, causing his HP to bottom. "...This isn't...right...Why is everything going black...?" His PC also faded to gray, and both PC corpses disappeared.

In real life, two players named Ami and Mikuto fall out of their chairs and to the ground, eyes shut and skin sweaty and pale, The calls of their parents fell on deaf ears...

* * *

Ryou grumbled. What was so important that Yata needed to call him there at 4 in the morning? Stupid Time difference. He clicked 'The World' icon and waited for the screen to come up.

When it did, He clicked 'Log in' and filled out the PC name and password. His PC, Haseo, appeared in Mac Anu, which didn't surprise him much. He had helped a few newbies who had requested help from Canard(through Gaspard, of course).

Haseo moved forward and out of the Chaos Gate Dome. Outside, many PCs were milling around the big doors and he hoped that they weren't fangirls who had made new accounts...

_Oh, god...I couldn't handle that._

He now wished that someone would just hurry up and beat him in the Arena! Honestly, he wasn't even trying, but he beat them every time...

Ugh.

Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, he moved away from the many players to the transfer gate, warping to the mercenary district. Haseo noticed as he moved to the guild AtHome doors that there weren't any PCs here..._Than why are there so many by the Dome? And why are there so many on at this time of night? __**Day~**__ Shut up._

Haseo padded over to the home doors, pausing to glance around. He had hoped to meet with one of the other Epitaph Users out here, but apparently, he was late. Targeting the door, he clicked the 'yes' option and warped into the Raven main room.

"Man, We haven't met here in a while...I thought that Yata decided to have all meetings on Tartarga...Unless..." He brought a hand to his face, exasperated._ He wanted Zelkova to watch, but not be known by CC Corp that he IS watching...Jeez._

When Skeith to respond with some sarcastic comment, Haseo let out a breath of relief. He couldn't think when he was logged on anymore, at least, if he didn't want a somewhat rude AI responding to it with a dumb comment.

Haseo pushed the tapestry away from the entrance and stepped through, heading down the hallway at a light jog. For all he knew, he might be early...So he should take it at least a little easy.

He stepped out into the main hall of the Serpent of Lore. Instantly, all eyes were on him, "Haseo-san! You're late." Atoli was the first to speak, smiling at him. Haseo smirked back, "So I am. Not my fault it's way too early for this sort of thing..." "Time Difference. Get over it," Pi said with a frown, her pink pigtails swinging slowly back and forth.

Kuhn grinned at the admin, "Aw, don't be mean. It's probably early for him." Haseo glared at the Propagation. "Shut the hell up, Kuhn." The steam gunner pouted in response.

"Everyone. I would like it if we could actually proceed with the meeting, especially if you want to actually sleep, Haseo." Yata sent a wicked eyed look at the adept, making him cringe. _Great...He's pulling my complaining around and using it against me_.

Endrance looked up from his lounging. "Yata. Does this have something to do with that email you sent me about being moved to a different division of CC Corp?" Sakubo, with Bo in control, looked concerned, "You're leaving GU, Yata-san?"

The Macarbe Dancer shook his head, "I'm not leaving GU, I'll just no longer be leading it. I've been moved to a special division made recently. This Division has no name yet, so I have nothing for you to refer to..." Yata seemed a little unnerved by the glare he was getting from Haseo. "And, WHY are you glaring at me like that, Haseo?"

He made a 'tch' noise and crossed his arms, "...I'm not glaring."

Yata rolled his eyes upward but did not challenge him. Atoli covered her mouth to stop from giggling and simply smiled at Haseo when he glanced at her. He huffed, "I wasn't glaring!" "Su~ure, you weren't, Haseo," Kuhn teased. The adept glared at him and muttered something that sounded like 'I'm going to find you and kill you in your sleep.' The steam gunner shivered and laughed weakly as the silver PC turned to leave.

"Look. If that's all you have to tell us, I'm leaving!" Haseo warped out, closely followed by Atoli, who had yelped, "Wait! I found a really good Area! Wait for me!"

Kuhn chuckled at their behavior, "Ha! Haseo is so whipped! :D" "If Haseo heard you say that, I have no doubt you would already be dead. Now get going!" Pi turned and also gated out, followed by Endrance and Bo. "Aw. No one has a sense of humor anymore!" Kuhn followed, leaving the former GU leader alone.

"...I'm glad to see you all are enjoying being normal players...But, I have no idea how much longer you can stay that way."

* * *

Aina stared out at the bleak white landscape of the Creator's Room. She sighed softly. She had expected to see the young girl from earlier there, but she was nowhere to be found. "I hope she's okay..." "Who's okay?"

The gothic lolita spun around, surprise etched on her face, "E-eh? Oh! Lycrosis! Don't do that, you surprised me..." Behind her, a silver-haired girl wearing a dress of red smiled. "Were you thinking of me, nee-chan?" Aina still didn't know what to make of the younger girl calling her 'nee-chan' but it didn't matter at this point(they had gotten very close, as close as real sisters, so she didn't mind).

"Yes, Lycrosis, I was...I was hoping you were okay, I was worried when I didn't see you here today." Lycrosis gave her an apologetic look, "Really? Sorry, nee-chan. I'll send you a flash mail if I can't get here at the usual time next time..."

Aina smiled and patted the younger girl on the head, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine if you're a little late...Everyone is a little late at some point." The red child beamed up at the older girl, "Okay, Aina-nee-chan!"

Turning away, Aina shifted to the books still scattered across the ground and began to sort them again, "Neh, Nee-chan, what are you doing?" Lycrosis peered over her shoulder to see what books the girl was moving around, the one she currently held had a title that proclaimed 'Graceless Unision.'

"Sorting the books...I want them to look nice when Nii-san comes back..." "Nii-san?" "My older brother. I'm sure you'll really like him, Lycrosis! He's really nice." The red-dressed girl nodded slowly and then a dawning look appeared on her face. "Oh yeah! Nee-chan, I got a really special book the other day...I wanted to show you it!"

Aina paused in her sorting to turn to the younger girl. "Okay. What's it called?"

"We~ell...The item title says it's called the 'Book of Dawn' but the cover says 'Epitaph of Dawn,' So, I'm guessing the second is the actual name." The shadow warlock blinked in surprise, "Epitaph of Dawn?" "Yes. See, here it is!"

In Lycrosis' hands was worn book with a title that indeed said 'Epitaph of Dawn.' It had a celtic knot displayed on the bridge and Aina couldn't help but notice that the title was written in german. "Lycrosis? You can read german?" The girl tilted her head to the side, "What's 'German?'"

The shadow warlock blinked slowly and then shrugged quickly, "Nevermind, Lycrosis. I tell you later, kay?" She blinked at Aina innocently before saying, "My mother gave me this book before she disappeared." Aina stared at the little girl in confusion, "Your...Mother?" She frowned, thinking when a realization hit her. Was _Aura _her mother?

"Nevermind my question,o kay, Lycrosis? Let's just read it, okay?" The red child smiled up at Aina naively with a hint of confusion in her eyes, "Okay! Let's start!" The two girls sat down next together and Aina murmured softly, "'The first to fall; A Master of the Waves. The second; A Warrior hero of the World. Even as she prays, the girl with no shadow has a never ending journey to end the one who made her live...'"

* * *

In Mac Anu, a PC appeared by the Chaos Gate. This PC was clad in dark green with light teal hair that said 'I'm not good with matching colors, so, sue me.' If you glanced at his stats, they would say he was level 1 and an Adept Rogue(A rare class, mainly because most people didn't like taking all the time it took to raise one). His name was displayed as 'Kaye' and those who already know what name he had chosen for this PC would flock to him, calling greetings of 'hello's and 'welcome back's.

Kaye stepped past the multitude of players, some of them Vagrant AIs, though no player really noticed that, and out into the almost blinding sunset(or sunrise?) of Mac Anu's main city.

"...I'm back..."

So you are, Ayumu, so you are.

* * *

!New! Character files

Haseo; Ryou Misaki; 17; Adept Rogue(Twin Blade, Edge Punisher, & Flick Reaper+Dual Gunner); Tri-Crown Emperor and Epitaph User of Skeith. His PC is one of the two 'Keys of the Twilight,' the other being a bracelet still hidden deep in the game. Haseo is the Guild Master of Canard. One of two main heroes.

Kaye; Ayumu ?; 21; Adept Rogue(Twin Blade, ?, & ?); Former player of the original 'The World.' First time logging into R:2. Not much is known besides those facts. One of the main heroes?

Atoli; Chigusa Kusaka; 16; Harvest Cleric; Member of Canard and Epitaph User of Innis. Good friends with Haseo. Formerly a member of Moon Tree, a now disbanded Guild. One of two Heroines, the other unknown.

Pi; Reiko Saeki; 24; Tribal Grappler; Epitaph User of Tarvos. Has an unsteady friendship with Haseo, which is sometimes sent off balance by their arguments. Still a member of Raven and new leader of GU.

Kuhn; Tomonari Kasumi; 24; Steam Gunner; Epitaph User of Magus. Haseo's best friend(has a tendency to tease him mercilessly about his crush). Left Raven and became a member of Canard again.

Yata; Takumi Hino; 17; Macrabe Dancer; Epitaph User of Fidchell. Admin from CC Corp. and okay friends with Haseo. Still leads Raven even though he no longer leads GU.

Endrance; Kaoru Ichinose; 20; Blade Brandier; Epitaph User of Macha. Seems to like Haseo a lot. Devotes himself to every one of the former PKK's whims. Another member of Canard.

Sakubo; Iori Nakanishi; 11; Shadow Warlock; Epitaph User of Gorre. Two personalities, Saku and Bo. Bo refers to Haseo as 'Big Brother' while Saku refers to him as her 'Rival for Master En's love!' Bo left 'Trifile' to join Canard and help 'Big Brother.'

Aina; Aina Indou; 12; Shadow Warlock; Ovan's younger sister. Has a tentative friendship with Haseo and (possible?) a crush on Bo.

Lycoris; ?; Appears 7; ?; An AI that appeared before Aina and has become like a little sister to her. Relationship to The World is unknown.

Hikari; Ami Kimura; 15; Adept Rogue(Level 1); First new Coma Victim. Was killed by infected monster in a newbie area.

Dante; Mikuto Kaiti; 17; Edge Punisher; Second Coma Victim. Killed in newbie area with Hikari by infected monster.

* * *

[Save Data?]

{Yes} [No]

[...Data Saved.]

* * *

!New Email!

Sender; ?

To; Kaye

Welcome Back. It's been a while.

To be honest, I am surprised you've returned. After all, you did swear alongside those over three not to return unless Aura did first, did you not?

Or have you heard of the rumors?

The rumors of a girl in all white?

Perhaps it's time to show the others the truth, the truth of this world. Or maybe not.

Perhaps next time, Ayumu Suzuki.

Perhaps next time.


	2. Out in the Starless Light

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

Pairings: Atoli/Haseo, Blackrose/Kite, Shino/Ovan, Pi/Yata, Implied Aina/Bo, Others that will be added at a later dates.

Disclaimer; Redesigns for Dothacker PCs are mine, as well as the plot, but nothing else. Sucks for me XD

Warning; Post-Vol. 3. Lots of things here will spoil it, so if you haven't finished it(or spoiled the ending already), I suggest you don't read. Also, Hikari and Dante make a one-time appearance in chapter one. Previous chapter takes place 1-2 days after this one.

AN; Thanks for all the reviews! I love them all~ Not much to say but thank all of my reviewers and the like.

/EDIT 10-26-11/Changed a few things, a couple of paragraphs are different, fixed any grammer mistakes I could find...Also added a new section! Now, I'm going to work on 003 after this, alright?

Login 002; Out in the Starless Light

* * *

_Lycrosis...I must ask something of you. Something you may not be able to handle._

_Ka-san?_

_Take this book...And give it to a certain person._

_Ka-san! Where are you going? How will I know who that certain person is?_

_I'll be here, in The World, still...But I must hide. And you will know. You will know because he will know._

_Know what, Ka-san?_

_What you are with only a single glance...You will know._

_I don't understand!_

_I'm...sorry...Take care of your...sister...and the priestess...as well...as the rest...of the family..._

_D-don't go, not yet!_

_Goo...dbye..._

_Ka-san!_

* * *

"Ugggghhh..." "Oh, stop that!" "UUUUUGGGGHHHH..." SMACK! "OW! Akira!"

A dark brown haired man held his head, pouting at a dark tan haired girl. "Well, Ayu-chan, you shouldn't have kept doing that to annoy me." He groaned, "Stop calling me 'Ayu-chan,' it kills my ego." "That's the point...I could always call you 'Kite-chan~' you know.' Ayumu grimaced, "That'd be even worse." Akira laughed at the man's expression. "Oh, calm down, Ayumu, I'm just kidding!"

He huffed and crossed his arms, looking away. The tennis player patted the taller one on the head before heading to the car parked at the curb, "Well, while you sulk, I'll be going and getting our stuff from the electronic store. See you." "GAH! Wait!" Ayumu dashed up from behind her, claiming the driver's seat before she could sit. "I'm not letting you drive MY car."

"The car you nearly crashed the other day?"

"Shut up! That was a one time thing!"

"Riiiight."

Akira went around and into the passenger's side, pulling the seatbelt one and waving her hand at the windshield. "Well, get going. Or are you going to clam up again?" She teased. He huffed at the reference and turned the car on, "Come on, I was 14!" "So? I didn't clam up like you did, and I was 16!" She laughed at his new pout.

They continued their pout of teasing for the next ten minutes it took to get to downtown Tokyo. As soon as they entered Downtown, Ayumu screwed up. With a quick swerve, he stop the car at the edge of the road, gapping at the two he had nearly hit. The young man was glaring at him in anger(not surprising) while the teen girl next to him pulled on his arm, saying something that Ayumu couldn't make out. He jumped as he heard a door slam right near his ear.

"...Okay. That's it. Out of the driver's seat, I'm driving!" Akira was suddenly by the driver's door and forcing the door open. Ayumu squeaked in surprise before being dragged out. "Go. Now." He pouted but complied.

Now, with Akira at the wheel, the world felt safe again.

"Like I said earlier, I should have just been driving the whole time."

"...I didn't mean to almost run those two over..."

"Doesn't change the fact you almost did." Ayumu slumped back in his seat but didn't argue any further.

Akira glanced out at the stores lining the streets, looking for the closing Internet Cafe. "Why are we looking for that one?" "Because, Daichi said he was closing it down because CC Corp offered him his job back...Even though HE was the one who left." "...Does it pay twice as much than before?" "...Maybe. That's probably one of the only reasons he'd join back up...Oh, and make crazy ass events again. But you know him." Ayumu snorted in response.

They spent the next five minutes in silence, though, Ayumu kept making fake-sounding sniffing noises. "...Would you cut that out? I can't concentrate on the road." The man laughed softly but complied. "Hey, Akira? Is that the place?" The woman glanced out the window to a cafe with the title 'Azure Skies.' "...I never get tired of teasing Daichi for that dorky name." "Heh. Well, he was Balmung of the Azure Skies." Akira rolled her eyes skyward, "Doesn't change the fact that it was dorky."

Parking the car in front of the cafe, Akira stepped out and moved to the door, but Ayumu beat her to it. "Daichi! Hey!" She couldn't help but roll her eyes upward again.

"Ah! Akira, Ayumu! It's been, what, 2 years? Did you finally get the guts to ask her out, Ayumu?" A black-haired man appeared at the counter of the 'bar,' giving the rest of the cafe a once over look. "...," Ayumu pouted. "...We've been going out for 3 years, Daichi. Losing your memory in your old age?" Akira joked, grinning at he stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeah, yeah, Akira...Anyway, You guys came by to pick up a couple of my extra M2-Ds and controllers right? I have `em right here." He grabbed a plastic bag resting at the side of the counter and passed it to Ayumu who had come forward to take it.

Akira scratched the back of her neck before asking, "Have you seen Kazu? I heard he came here all the time when R:2 came out..." Daichi shrugged. "As soon as I announced that I was closing the cafe, he left to the one nearby. It's called 'Boundless.' Weird name, huh?" Ayumu hid his snort at the man's surprise. "...What's wrong, Ayumu?" "N-nothing!" Akira shook her head before grabbing his arm and dragging the man away, "See you, Daichi. I need to go find Kazu and ask him something..."

The couple left and entered the car, Akira taking out her cellphone and sent a text to Kazu. "What's it say?" "Be quiet, you. I need to concentrate on this..." Ayumu shrugged but settled down in his chair without speaking.

"Mmmm...Hmmm..." Akira mumbled, keeping an eye on her cellphone as they headed off to 'Boundless.' It, to their surprise, only took a few minutes to find the rather popular Internet Cafe. The two left the car parked out in front as they did with 'Azure Skies' and headed in, Akira mumbling all the way in.

It only took them a few minutes to find Kazu, as he was sitting in one of the first tables, cringing every few seconds. He had a pair of M2Ds on and a controller in his hand. A laptop was sent up in front of him and he grumbled a 'La Repth' as the two neared him. "Kazuuu...Hana~a is hau~unting your sou~ul." The 18 year old jumped, gasping in surprise at Akira's whisper into his ear. A vague 'Kazu? you okay?' was heard over the speakers and he grumbled a 'yes' back. "I need to go, be right back."

As Fumikazu took his M2-Ds off, Akira composed her expression into an entirely serious one. "Kazu. We agreed you wouldn't play without telling me." "...Akira? wha-" "Be quiet you! I'm talking." Ayumu had taken the empty seat by Kazu and mumbled to him, "I suggest you do that. Akira is kind of scary when she's mad." "I couldn't agree more..." Kazu mumbled back.

"Alright! Why did you do this without telling me? I'm your older sister! I have to take care of you." He huffed, "I'm 18 now, Akira. I can take care of myself." She glared at him for a few minutes before her expression melted into one of pure mischief. "...Oh my god. You actually thought I was mad? Idiot!" Akira sat down in the chair on the other side of me, laughing softly. ..._Man, Akira's laugh is so...Oh, jeez. No love sick stuff...We're OVER that phase! OKAY? _Ayumu smacked himself in the forehead, though the other two didn't notice.

"...You're not mad?...Okay. Now I'm really scared." The girl pouted at her brother before grinning again, "Well. Now you owe me for playing behind my back." Oh no...Kazu shivered. Physical labor?"...I want you to help me and Ayumu get re-acquainted with The World!" Kazu stared at her, bewildered. "...You want me to help you out? Why didn't you just say so?"

She smirked, "Because, then I wouldn't have gotten a chance to scare you witless." He made a soft whining noise but said nothing more. "So, what do you say?" "...Fine. Only because you're my sister and Ayumu is your boyfriend. Okay?" Akira grinned widely. "Awesome! Where do you want meet?" "Mac Anu, duh. I'll meet you in the main square in a couple of days, where the fountain is...Oh, and it's past the main dome where the Chaos Gate is. Now can you go? I'm helping a few newbies in my guild level up." Akira shrugged but got up, Ayumu spacing off. "Ayu-chan~ Let's go!"

"Eh?" His upper arm was grabbed as the woman dragged him out of the cafe, many people staring at the two. "...He is so whipped." Kazu muttered, placing his M2-Ds back on.

Back in the car, Ayumu was blinking, "...He agreed to help?" Akira nodded, "Yeah. We're going to meet him in Mac Anu in a few days...His text he sent said he was a healer, a harvest cleric, and a 'La Tribe'...Whatever that is. So, I'm keeping my old PC name...What about you?" The man's face had taken a brooding look as he shook his head. "Naw. I'll take a different name...Besides, Blackrose is pretty common now. Most people will probably think you're a fake."

Akira shurgged, "So? Doesn't matter to me...But whatever the case is...I just hope one thing." "What?"

"I hope we don't get caught up in some _other_ coma thing..."

* * *

Akira paused with a frown and glanced over at Ayumu. Since the previous day, when they had gotten the things needs for R:2, He had taken to looking through old photo albums, ones from during the time(or even before) the Twilight Incident…

Or at least, that was what they still called it. Others referred to it as something else, something _she _didn't know, but didn't care about either.

"Hey, Akira?"

She looked up at Ayumu.

In his hand was an old photograph that she recongnized. "Oh!" Ayumu frowned a little, "Who's this?" Akira took the photograph from his hand and laughed lightly, "This is Ryou Misaki. He used to live near my family before they moved to Tokyo. That was a year after the Incident...Why?"

"Well," He looked at her sheepishly, "He kind of looks like that guy we," "You," "-Uh, I nearly ran over." "He is, isn't he...?"She blinked and then looked down at the photo. Then, she remembered something, "He fell into a coma a little before Kazu did. His parents told everyone that they got into a car accident and that was why...but, I don't get that."

Ayumu blinked back at her, "Why is that?" "Their car was perfectly fine," She murmured, "And I remember him mentioning playing The World, once. After he woke up, around the same time as Kazu, I asked him about it. Ryou-kun looked confused and said he didn't remember that."

The other frowned now, "That really doesn't make sense." Akira gave him a dry look, "Well, duh," she returned his frown, now, "Of course, just before they moved, His parents gave me this box. I didn't open it until after they left, but inside was all this stuff for The World."

"Wait," Ayumu murmured, "He, most likely, fell into a coma because of The World. But he lost all memory of playing the game, and his parents gave you the stuff he used to cover it up?"

"Pretty much."

"But," He frowned again, "That doesn't make sense either. Kazu and Yasuhiko didn't forget playing The World, why would he?" Akira's shoulders slumped, "Dunno. But...I do know that I want to find out. Maybe The World has an answer for this, too?"

"Maybe."

* * *

!NEW! Character files

!UPDATED! Kaye; Ayumu Suzuki; 21; Adept Rogue(Twin Blade, ?, & ?); The very original Dot Hacker, Kite. Received a free copy of R:2. After an outing(and nearly running over a couple) with Akira, the two buy the necessary item to play R:2...And then enter it again. Dating Akira. One of the two Main Heroes.

!UPDATED!Aina; Aina Indou; 12; Shadow Warlock; Ovan's younger sister and Aura's Priestess. Has a tentative friendship with Haseo and (possible?) a crush on Bo.

!UPDATED! Lycrosis; ?; Appears 7; Vagrant AI; One of the two daughters of Aura, the other being ?. Has adopted Aina as an older sister. Holding the 'Book of Dawn,' which was given to her by Aura.

Blackrose; Akira Hayami; 24; Flick Reaper; One of the two main dot hackers. Akira also received a free copy of R:2. Dating Ayumu. Knows Ryou Misaki, as he used to live in the same area as the Hayami family. One of two main Heroines.

Kazu; Fumikazu Hayami; 18; Harvest Cleric; Akira's younger brother. Fell into a coma during 'Twilight' incident of R:1. Continued playing the game behind her back after waking up. Used to be good friends with Ryou Misaki, but fell out of contact. Member of Medic Union.

* * *

[Save Data?]

{Yes} [No]

[...Data Saved]

* * *

!New email!

Sender; Blackrose

To; Haseo

Hahaha...

You have no idea who I am, do you? Don't worry, I'm not a creepy fangirl. I have a boyfriend, after all. I'm not an admin, either.

`Course, I know who you are, Ryou-kun. It's been a while, so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember me...

It's me, Akira Hayami(or, hopefully soon, Suzuki).

I just logged in for the first time in a while, a really long while. I don't suppose you'd know why I have your email already, do you?

Probably not.

Though, if you ever want back up, me and my partner/boyfriend will always be there to help! Oh, Ayumu's user name is Kaye, so look for it, won't you?

See you some time, either in The World or IRL?

-Akira


	3. Dark Shadows Bounding

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

Pairings: Atoli/Haseo, Blackrose/Kite, Shino/Ovan, Pi/Yata, Silabus/Alkaid, Implied Aina/Bo, Others that will be added at a later date.

Disclaimer; Do. Not. Own.

Warning; Post-Vol.3

AN; I've added Levels to the character files(The GU characters all of their levels from my save file~), so check those out, okay? Oh, and the current characters are all 150...Isn't that crazy? XD I'm such a nerd. Oh, and if anyone knows any fics with SIGN characters meeting and/or interacting with Haseo, it'd be awesome if you could give me their names~

Oh, and if Kaye and/or Blackrose's names are at the end of a character file, that means that character and those two have each other's member addresses.

Login 003; Dark Shadows Bounding

* * *

Kazu sighed. Really, where were those two? They were supposed to be here a hour ago. "Hey, Kazu!" The harvest cleric looked up, spotting a familiar shadow warlock, "Gaspard!" The other smiled at him, "How're you?"

"Waiting for my older sister and her boyfriend," He replied, looking a little annoyed. Gaspard seemed a little surprised by this, "Eh, really? So your sister decided to join The World?"

"Yeah."

"Is she going to join the Medic Union?"

"No way," Kazu laughed, "She'd never be a Harvest Cleric. Akira probably went for the Edge Punishers, seeing as they're the closest class to the old Heavy Blade class." Gaspard blinked in surprise, "She played R:1?"

The La Tribe nodded, "Oh, yeah, she did. Played seven years ago, when all that crazy stuff was going down." Kazu blinked as Gaspard's PC gained an odd expression, "What sort of crazy stuff?"

He blinked again, "You know, comas, Lost Ones, as they're called now, monsters who couldn't be beaten, and, even stranger, Monsters that didn't exist in the guide book." Gaspard looked vaguely surprised by this, "So, would you consider that weirder then some of the things that happened recently?

"Oh, yeah, I would," Kazu grinned. Gaspard seemed surprised, "Eh, why?" "Well," He drawled, "I supposed it would be because I'd had an encounter with one of those Unbeatable monsters. Not fun, at least, not for me."

Gaspard frowned, "So you mind if I ask why? I don't want to sound like I'm prying, or anything!" He added quickly at Kazu's confusion. The teen laughed lightly, "No, it's fine. Yeah, I got killed by the monster. Next thing I remember clearly, I'm laying in a hospital bed and my mom is crying all over me." The other La Tribe sucked in a breath. "Is there something wrong?" Kazu asked, raising an eyebrow. Gaspard grinned weakly, "No, it's fine."

"Yo! Gaspard!" The two La Tribe turned and saw Silabus running toward them with a bright grin. Following after him, looking rather reluctant, was the former Demon Emperor, Alkaid. Kazu blinked. He knew that Gaspard, and in turn, Silabus, knew some rather famous people in The World, but sometimes he forgot that some of those people included Arena Emperors, former or otherwise.

The Shadow warlock returned the blade brandier's greeting and gestured to Kazu, "This is Kazu, Alkaid. Kazu, well, this is Alkaid." Alkaid gave him a light wave with an accompanying raised eyebrow. "Er, hello," Kazu muttered. Then, blurting it out, "You're pretty intimidating." Alkaid blinked in response and than laughed, "Thanks! I try."

Kazu scratched his head, "You're almost as bad as my older sister...," He paused, "But no one is scarier than my sister. _No one_." The harvest cleric shuddered visibly. Gaspard blinked, "Is this the same sister you're going to help get used to R:2?" The other La Tribe nodded. "Why are you helping her then, if you're so scared of her?" asked the green PC next to Alkaid.

"It's because I'm scared of her that I'm helping her. Besides, I bet she and Ayumu-kun will get used to R:2 pretty fast."

"Why do you say that?" Alkaid asked curiously, her eyes flashing. _Is she a fighting maniac? _"Well, she and Ayumu-kun were considered some of the best players in all of The World, back seven years ago." Alkaid gained a rather scary expression while Silabus whistled. "Maybe they'd consider having a short match with me!" _She is definately a fighting maniac._

Silabus touched his chin briefly before saying, "If they were considered some of the bes players back then, they wouldn't they have had a title?" Kazu frowned a little, "I'm not sure. They had a fan club, each...But other then that..."

"What were their usernames, anyway?"

"Oh! Blackrose and Ki-"

"_Hello Little Brother._"

Kazu froze and a horrified look crossed his face. _Thank Aura that you can't be PKed in Root Towns! _"H-hey, sis, how're you?" "Oh, me? I'm _great_, except for one thing," The pink haired PC stalked closer to him, a teal haired, green clad PC slowly following her, "You neglected to tall me exactly _where_ the fountain was!" The harvest cleric cringed, "W-well, sis, that's because the fountain was right near the chaos gate so..."

"We wandered around for a _hour _looking for your _stupid fountain_!"

Gaspard raised his hands suddenly, "Wait. Could you guys, um, argue somewhere else? I kind of...well..." He trailed off as Blackrose leveled a glared on him now. The teal-haired PC sighed and turned to Silabus, "I'm sorry about her, she gets like this a lot." Silabus grinned weakly, "It's fine. Ah, you are...?"

"Kaye."

The green blad brandier blinked, "And that PC is...?" "My Partner and girlfriend, Blackrose. You probably already know, but she's Kazu's older sister," Kaye gave the other PC a bright smile. It caused Silabus to blink and smile confusedly in return, "Ah..." He paused, "You know, you and Blackrose, from what I can tell, remind me a bit of Haseo and Atoli...Except, I guess, opposite?"

"Haseo and Atoli?"

Silabus blinked, "Oh, you must not know, huh? Well, from what I can tell, Blackrose seems to be a lot like Haseo...And you seem to be a lot like Atoli. But there are differences..." The other peered itno Kaye's face, "Besides the fact that Atoli is a girl and Haseo is a guy, I mean."

Alkaid snorted, "Just tell them what you mean. Anyway, Silabus, you forgot to mention the fact that Haseo is the Tri-crown Arena Emperor, and Atoli was with him for almost every one of his battle in the Arena. Makes her just as famous as him." Kaye looked curious, "Arena?"

"It's where players can fight head to head, it was CC Corp's way of trying to stop PKs. Didn't really work, though," Kazu said from Kaye's side with a wide grin. Blackrose was huffing from her spot next to the small La Tribe, showing that she had finally blown off all her steam.

Alkaid rolled her shoulders, "It was great to meet you all, but I need to get going. There's a meeting in Icolo and then I'll be logging off, see you later Silabus." And so the red-head twin blade very literally stomped away, looking more than a tincy bit upset. Blackrose snickered and Whispered to Kaye, "She's so crushing on him." the other started coughing rather loudly and recieved weird looks from the other three.

Gaspard waved to get their attention and said, "I need to get back to attending the shop, Silabus, Kazu. So, um, nice to meet you, Kaye, Blackrose." The kimono-clad PC smirked in reply while the teal-haired adept merely smiled. Both actions made the shadow warlock blink before turning and heading back to the Canard Guild shop.

"Ah, well, I should go soon too," Silabus mused, up until the point a familiar(at least to the two 'veterns' of R:2) white PC jogged up, "Silabus!" The green clad PC turned to the speaker, whom Kazu was staring at with wide eyes. Neither Blackrose nor Kaye understood his expression, though they had a strange sense of...well, perhaps knowing this player. But at the same time, they knew they had never met him before.

Odd.

The white PC eyed the oddly before turning to Silabus, "How's the inventory at the shop?" The green PC gasped, "Oh yeah! We're out of healing items." Blackrose peeked at her brother's PC, whom had bettered a quiet 'oops.' "So," She drawled now, earning the other twos attention, "You are?" The other PC blinked and then cracked a slightly insane grin, "You don't know?"

Kaye responded instead, hesitant, "Are we...supposed to?" Instead of seeming to be miffed by this comment, The white PC beamed(which seemed to terrify the blade brandier next to him) and seemed about to cheer when he managed to cover it up with a light cough.

Blackrose scooted away from him.

The adept next to her couldn't blame her, as he too was just a tiny bit terrified of this PC's reaction. In the next moment, the PC introduced himself as 'Haseo', seeming to take great joy introducing himself. Kazu was still staring at him, appearing absolutly stunned at Haseo's appearance, though Blackrose and Kaye had, truly, no idea why.

"Question," Blackrose began, "Why is my little brother gapping like a loon and why are you so...disgustingly happy about someone not knowing who you are?" Silabus snorted at the 'Disgustingly Happy' part, while Haseo's coughing continued. Finally, his coughing fit subsided, "W-well, It's probably because of the whole 'Tri-crown Emperor' thing, for both questions. I am, unfortunately, rather, uh, famous." Kaye noted he seemed embarrassed in admitting this.

But maybe he was just seeing things wrong.

Blackrose hummed, "Fan clubs, then?" The adept next to her shuddered at the memory of their own fan clubs when Haseo blinked, "Yeah, pretty much." The other two sighed and said in unison, "We sympthesize completely." "Oh!" Silabus clapped his hands, "Kazu mentioned that." He turned his gaze on the harvest cleric who had still not said a word.

"Oh, did he now?" Blackrose rumbled, a strange smile crossing her lips. Kaye merely squeaked at the sight, scooting as far away from her as he could. Silabus blinked in confusion was Haseo merely shook his head, "Well, Silabus, I have to go, Atoli's waiting at the Chaos Gate for me. See you later." The former guildmaster nodded in his direction as he left, an amused smile gracing his lips.

Kaye hummed his amusement as well while Blackrose had began to berate her younger brother in a private chat. Ah, how times never change.

Silabus turned his attention to the two 'noobs', "Well, I have to go...But I'd like you to have this! If you ever get in trouble, or need help, just send me a flash mail, okay?"

[**Silabus** has given you his **Member Address**]

Before either of them could say a word, the green PC trotted away cheerfully, waving at them over his shoulder. "That was odd, ever more odd than randomly meeting a 'famous' player in the middle of Mac Anu," Blackrose comment lightly. Kaye snorted softly, his eyes shining in amusment.

Kazu finally seemed to snap out of his stupor and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Holy Crap, that was Haseo!"

Blackrose sighed.

Kaye patted the small La Tribe's shoulder, "We know, Kazu. But, shoulder we get going?" Kazu blinked shut his mouth, which had still been hanging open, and nodded. With a quick gesture, he motioned to both the tall PC at his side and the flick reaper(not that he knew _that _bit of information) standing further away.

[**Kazu **has given you his **Member Address**]

"Well, finally!" Blackrose cried, annoyed, "We've spent _way _too much time talking to random PCs. C`mon, let's go already!" And so she lead the 'charge' to the Chaos Gate.

Kaye and Kazu followed at a much more sedated pace.

Once they(_"Finally_" was Blackrose's complaint) arrived, Kazu sent out two invitations. Kaye blinked as the windowed request popped up.

[**Kazu** would like to form a **Party**! Do you accept?]

With a small smile, he clicked the 'Yes' option, and saw Kazu's and Blackrose's stats appear at the bottom left corner of the screen. The flick reaper clapped her hands, "Alright! So, let's go!" The la tribe sighed, "Can't just yet, sis. I need to explain the changes in the area and fighting systems."

Blackrose pouted but gestured for him to continue. Kazu did so, "Well, there are three types of Areas: Dungeon, Field, and Lost Ground. Lost grounds are an unofficial area type, but people call them their own type anyway. See, Lost Grounds are places like _**Delta **_**Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground**, that old chruch. There are lots of other places like it, and I think there's a mega thread for them on the Rumors board at the community website...Not sure, though.

"Next, are the Dungeon and Field types. Basically, they seperated the old Field&Dungeon area system and made it so the field is it's own area, as is the dungeon. Pretty easy to go about...

"Theres also the differences in Field areas, too. Two divisions: Boss Fields and Temple Fields. Temple fields, you need to collect three of the symbol fragments to open the Temple and get the item. Boss field are where you have to beat the boss to get the item. Got all that?"

Kaye nodded for them both: It wasn't _that _much different.

"All right!" Kazu clapped, "The fighting system now has skill triggers, which is for using Skills, and Rengeki. Rengeki is just an end fight Skill, which can be used with the skill trigger. There's also the Morale bar, which we can use to perform an Awakening!" Blackrose raised an eyebrow, "Awakening?"

The La Tribe shot her a dry look, "It's a special attack you and the entire part use together: Like a triple threat sort of thing. Or double. Always have to have another player with you to use it, though!" "Alright," Kaye murmured, "So, I think we've got everything. Time to experience it for ourselves, don't you think?" Kazu nodded in agreement and turned to the chaos gate.

Meanwhile, Blackrose was eye-ing a nearby white PC who had _horns_ on the top of his head. He shot her a bright smile and gestured towards her and the adept next to her. Just as the transfer to the area began...

[**Zelkova** has given you his **Member Address**]

* * *

!NEW! Character files

Gaspard; Kouta Maki; 14; Shadow Warlock; Level 150; Shop keeper of Shop Acorn that Kazu visits regularly. Gaspard is a member of Canard.

Silabus; Yuuichi Morino; 20; Blade Brandier; Level 150; Former Guildmaster of Canard. Occasionally goes and plays Shop keeper for Shop Acorn, where he met Kazu. Member of Canard. _Kaye & Blackrose._

Alkaid; Chika Kuramoto; 17; Twin Blade; Level 150; Former Demon Arena Emperor. She's good friends with Silabus and Gaspard, from Kazu's observations. A member of Icolo.

Zelkova; ?; ?; Flick Reaper; Level 150; Former Guildmaster of Moon Tree. He only seems to show concern about what may happen to The World next, but does he have any other motives? _Kaye & Blackrose._

* * *

[Save Data?]

{Yes} [No]

[...Data Saved]

* * *

!New email!

Sender; Zelkova

To; Kaye

Hey, it's been a long time Kite.

Or should I say Kaye? :)

Oh, yeah, I do know who you used to be. I do my research! ;)

Maybe you can figure out who I am? It shouldn't be too hard to figure out~ After all, the one who I was...Hm, that sounds weird.

How about the one who helped make my PC data? Yeah, that sounds better! :D

So, just because I think you should know, if you need any help or anything at all, just send me a flash mail, and I'll help you out~ Okay~? ;)

-Zelkova


	4. In the Shadow of the Sun

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

Pairings: Atoli/Haseo, Blackrose/Kite, Shino/Ovan, Pi/Yata, Silabus/Alkaid, Implied Aina/Bo, Others that will be added on at a later date.

Disclaimer; Not mine :P

Warning; Post-Vol.3

_Italics_ after each Character Descript. is for if that character has one of the the Main Characters' member addresses

AN; A fullmetal alchemist and dothack crossover? Anyone? And it seems Zelkova knows something we don't~ Or, really, you don't. Hahahah...-coughs- Hmm, who here would like to see a HD version of the original dothack games? I would. How about you? Also, Haseo was very OOC last chapter. My reason is because I want Blackrose to be able to call him 'Weirdo' later on. Heh-heh~

Gah, big block of text. Anyway, I'd like to ask anyone if they'd like to start an interactive .hack roleplay site with me? :)

Login 004; In the Shadow of the Sun

* * *

"A Level _6 Area? _Are you on something, Kazu?"

"Sorry, sis! I thought you guys would be able to handle it!"

"Well! Obviously not!"

Kaye sighed at the antics of the brother-sister duo. With a quick swipe, He took out the weak goblin monster in front of him. Behind him, Blackrose recovered from her arguement with Kazu and stabbed the nearest goblin with a fast swing of her scythe. "Scary~," Kazu cried in a sing-song voice. "Don't make me use it on you," the flick reaper threatened, but the medic just smiled.

Of course, there was no telling if the player himself was terrified out of his wits behind the FMDs("M2Ds!", as Kazu kept telling them).

Blackrose had been very twitchy and touchy after she had been killed earlier in the field by a very weak goblin. That alone had ticked her off into a rant about 'We're the .hackers! We should be able to handle a couple of measly goblins! So why do we suck so bad?' that Kazu had tuned out but unfortunate Kaye could not.

Kaye kicked("This is kind of fun! Kicking things open! :D") the chest open and recieved a Symbol Fragment, the second one. "Okay, Kazu, the next one is where...?" The adept turned to the cleric. The cleric in question was in turn staring at a strangely dressed figure babbling to a group of newbies.

"My guild is one of the best in The Wor-"

"Are you, perhaps, Umbrella?"

Kazu had hurried over and interrupted the player's 'speech' with a rather polite query. The two players behind the newbie(Twin Blade, if Kaye was right) rolled their eyes, "C`mon, Ikei, Me and RIGHT_WAY are leaving. This area is stupid. See you." The speaker, the apparent Macrabe Dancer if the PC style was anything to go by, was the first to disappear itno the blue rings. The blad brandier, RIGHT_WAY, shrugged and disappeared as well.

Umbrella then turned to Kazu with a glare, "I almost had them! Why'd you go and ruin it?" Ikei, the twin blade, frowned at him. "Well," The La tribe drawled, "You are aren't you?"

"Yes! And, You're a part of the Medic Union, aren't _you_?"

"Yes, I am. And, unlike you, I am somewhat polite."

Obviously, the PC couldn't seem to stand the cleric and so gated out of the area. Kazu turned to the beginner PC who cringed a little, "Oh! I'm so sorry you had to see that, Miss. Here, let me heal you. La Repth!" Ikei blinked as a green light washed over her and Blackrose laughed, "No wonder your guild is called the Medic Union." Kaye smiled at the newbie, "Are you all right?"

She gasped, "O-oh, yes! Um...," Her PC bowed suddenly, "Thank you very much, for helping me! Um, here take this! :)"

[**Ikei **has given you her **Member Address**]

"Thank you, again, for getting me out of that," Ikei bowed once more. "Hey, hey!" Blackrose cried, waving a hand, "Don't need to be so polite! just be yourself! :)" The twin blade clapped her hands together happily, "Really? :) Good! I'm really bad at being polite..."

Kaye smiled, "Well, I'm Kaye. This is Blackrose and Kazu." With a quick gesture to each, the PC smiled back, "You probably already know, but I'm Ikei. It's nice to meet you! :) Please treat me nicely~"

Blackrose laughed and said, "Sure! Just treat us nicely too! ;)" Kaye and Kazu sighed as one, though the former was smiling as well. Ikei looked off to the side then and gasped, "Oh no! It's really late! I'm sorry, I have school tomorrow, so I have to log off now! Bye, Blackrose, Kaye, Kazu!" And so the twin blade gated out.

"See you still have the 'touch', Kaye," The flick reaper of the party joked. Kazu blinked, "The 'touch?'" Kaye grumbled, obviously irritated with the term, "It's...Well, you know how a lot of players ended up helping us fight Morganna and the Phases 7 years ago?" The la tribe nodded, "Well, uh, Blackrose refers to how I got them into our party without really asking 'The Touch'. It's hard to explain, beyond that."

Kazu snorted with laughter and the party of three moved on to th next symbol fragment.

Ten minutes later, they stood outside of the Beast Temple, Kazu at the front holding the full Judge's Symbol. His two party members blinked as the entrance of the temple opened up, showing them a straight way to the doors. The la tribe hummed aloud, "We should be careful. I heard that CC Corp. was thinking of adding boss fights between the treasure room and the outer chamber for Symbol areas."

Blackrose merely shrugged while Kaye smiled, "Right, we'll be careful. _Right_, Blackrose?" She scoffed, "I'm always careful!" The teal-haired adept and la tribe glanced at each other and burst into hysterical laughter. "Oi!" Kazu was, thankfully, not hurt at all by Blackrose's attack...Especially as she had punched Kaye in real life and not in The World.

The trio, after the other two had recovered and the flick reaper had calmed down, moved on into the Temple. Thankfully, it seemed the rumor that Kazu had heard wasn't true, or had yet to be fulfilled, as they were warped directly into the treasure room.

The flick reaper was the first to move to the treasure chest, but Kaye, being the faster of the two, made it to the box first. He eyed it with a frowned before clicking the 'Search' button, only to see his adept PC kick it open. "Uh..." "Automatic for Adept Rogues," Kazu said plainly, "What'd ya get?" "Level 5 Twin Blades," He replied with a small smile.

Kazu grinned, "Good thing you got level 5 just before getting in here, huh?" The adept just smiled slightly in response. Blackrose had stopped and turned to stare at something back at the entrance to the treasure room. "Sis?" Kazu muttered questioningly while Kaye moved to look at whatever his girlfriend was looking at.

When he spotted the 'thing' in question, he gaped.

Standing across the room from them was young girl, 7 to 9 years of age, clothed in a short white dress. Her similiarly short blond hair flowed gently as if there was an imagined wind in the room. The girl eyed them for a little while before grinning suddenly and gating out.

"Uh...," Kazu stared in confusion, "You can't gate out of the treasure room in a field area..." The adept standing tall next to him shook his head, "_We_ can't. But who is to say a _Vagrant AI_ can't?"

The cleric gapped at him, "That _girl _was a _Vagrant AI_?" "Why're you so surprised?" Blackrose frowned, crossing her arms, "They're are quite a few of them walking around Mac Anu." "Seriously?...," Kazu muttered, confused. "Yeah," Kaye mused, "Strange, though. She's kind of familiar..."

Blackrose shrugged, "Well, no use just standing here. We've got the treasure, might as well leave, right?" Kaye nodded and went on ahead, their harvest cleric friend following slowly behind. The flick reaper sighed and shrugged her shoulders, telling the silence, "Really, Kazu, you should know by now that odd things happen in The World."

She then left, to follow her boyfriend and younger brother.

Kaye turned to her as she arrived a the platform just outside of the Temple, "Hey, Akira. We should probably get going, now." The harvest cleric by them sighed and shook his head, "See you, sis, Ayumu. I'm going on ahead to log out, I'm beat." Blackrose grinned after him and the adept next to her sighed with a brief smile.

"Hey, Ayumu," She suddenly muttered. He looked to her, "Hm?" "Well," The flick reaper began, "It's just...Kazu acted like Vagrant AIs were odd to find in The World. But, we know they're all over the place. Does _CC Corp._ know that? Or do they think they're aren't any Vagrant AIs left?"

Ayumu tipped his head to the side in real life, "Well, knowing them, they probably have an idea that there _might _be Vagrant AIs wandering around, but they aren't sure. Because they aren't sure, they tell me there aren't any in the system." Akira sighed heavily, loudly enough that Ayumu heard it from his side, "Jeez, that does sound like them. Well, whatever. It's not our problem, not anymore, so let's just go back to Mac Anu and Log out, okay?"

He laughed.

"Right."

And so, they were gone.

And they didn't see the other young girl watching them from the shadows give them a cruel smile.

_"I found you, both."_

* * *

!NEW! Character files

?; N/A; 8(?); Vagrant AI; Level N/A; A young girl wearing a long white sundress Kaye, Blackrose, and Kazu came across in their beginnner field.

Umbrella; ?; ?; Steam Gunner; Level ?; Guildmaster of Bad $$, The Medic Union's 'sworn enemy.'

Ikei; Himoru Thompson; 17; Twin Blade; Level 7; A Japanese American who joined the Japanese server of The World to practice her japanese. _Kaye & Blackrose_

RIGHT_WAY; ?; ?; Blade Brandier; Level ?; A player that Ikei plays with on a regular basis.

Assassin_Death; ?; ?; Macrabe Dancer; Level ?; A player that Ikei plays with on a regular basis. Member of The Rumored World, a guild for gossip and rumors in The World.

* * *

[Save Data?]

{Yes} [No]

[...Data Saved]

* * *

!New email!

Sender; Ikei

To; Kaye

Subject; Help Me~!

Kaaaaye

I want to go level up! Because I'm so weak. :(

But I heard of a good Area from Assassin_Death! Apparently, it gives more EXP for every battle you do! And It's a dungeon type,which means they're a lot more monsters to fight there!

I think it'd be safer to go with someone else...Do you want to come with me? Please?

:(

The Area keywords are **_Delta_ Sieg's Disaster Sword**.

Please, invite me~ And you can choose the third party member!

-Ikei


	5. The Oblivious Child

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

Pairings: Atoli/Haseo, Blackrose/Kite, Shino/Ovan, Pi/Yata, Silabus/Alkaid, Implied Aina/Bo, Others that will be added on at a later date.

Disclaimer; What? You think I'd claim it? Ha! I only own the OCs here, and the plot! Everything else is all Bandai Namco

Warning; Post-Vol.3

_Italics_ after each Character Descript. is for if that character has one of the the Main Characters' member addresses

AN; Thank you for the reviews~ I've officially hit 10 reviews for this story, so I'm going to celebrate quietly in my room/cave. Well, that, and I will be loudly fan-girling about Kingdom Hearts 3D...NE~EKU~U! Love~!

Also, enjoy Mistral's chapter. :)

Login 005; The Oblivious Child

* * *

Mayumi pouted a little as she stared at the screen. No Wavemaster class anymore? No fun! Ah, well, She mused, they did still have a class with Staffs, so she'd be good with that. The older woman cheerfully clicked the Harvest Cleric selection and then got to designing the character.

She, as alway, had her lovely hat, nearly the same as the one she had in R:1, though the outfit was, unfortunately, very different. With a grin, Mayumi added a few freckles to dot her PC's face. After that, she allocated the points to Magical/Physical defense and offense before typing in her name...

Mistral.

As soon as she saw the flash of blue, and the faint words of 'Welcome to The World', her PC appeared in front of the Chaos Gate in what she assumed was Mac Anu. Mistral whistled lightly at the sight of the huge domed room, "They've stepped things up a notch, haven't they?" With a ligth skip, she steered her PC towards the big wooden doors at the end of the room, flanked by the Save Shop and another shop she couldn't identify.

Humming lightly, the new havest cleric pushed through the doors to the bright light of the sunset far across the water. She blinked when the steady light entered her M2Ds and paused at the bottom of the stairs to get used to sudden light change.

After she had, Mistral went back to humming and skipped down the road to the main square. Of course, she recieved several odd looks for her skipping, but as Mistral was Mistral, she didn't notice.

She paused once she entered the square, putting her hands on her hips, "Well, what now?" Mistral had absolutely no one in this new version of The World, especially as she would never, ever make Ayumu or Akira play the game again, even if she was lonely.

The cleric never noticed the green blade brandier in the shop right behind her, not until he said, "Hello! Welcome to Shop Acron! If there anything you need? :)" She jumped and turned around, "Huh? Who're you?" The blade brandier blinked and smiled, "I'm Silabus!...Are you a newbie?" Mistral frowned: Newbie?

Technically, she was, but at the same time she wasn't. Well, maybe she should just tell him she was? "Yup! I just started a few minutes ago~"

Silabus blinked at how...blunt she was about it. Wasn't she scared that he might be a PK? Not that he was..., "...Do you need any help? I'm a member of the guild, Canard, which helps out Beginners." Mistral 'hm'ed for a few minutes before saying cheerfully, "Sure! I don't have anyone to play with anyway! :)"

The blade brandier nodded and then closed his eyes. He was, most likely, going through his member list. Mistral tipped her head to the side as he spoke, mostly to himself, "Gaspard is offline, Kuhn and the others are busy...all except...," Silabus frowned, "He hates working at Shop Acorn...So maybe...?"

"Uh? Silabus?"

"Oh!" He jumped a little, "Sorry! Let me send this flashmail, so we can get you help, okay?" Mistral gave a little nod, raising a curious eyebrow. For a few minutes they stood in a rather comfortable silence, before it was interuppted by a fuming white PC grumbling rather loudly, "If I see another fan girl, I swear I'm going to...!" He paused when he saw the cleric and blade brandier.

"Silabus..." The name came out as faint growl and Mistral paused and leaned toward the speaker. Oh-ho~! The way he stood, with that defiant look... She giggled, "You're like Akira!" _This _shut the white PC up. Silabus blinked, "'Akira?'"

Mistral stuck her tongue out playfully, "Someone I know IRL, She's real defiant and hates authority~ So she doesn't like being told what to do, ya know? :)" Silabus snorted into his hand, "That definately sounds like Haseo." Haseo, the white PC, glared and turned his gaze on the cleric, "So. I'm just wondering...Do you know who I am?"

The older woman frowned a little, "I don't think so. I mean, unless you're someone I know from R:1 or offline, that I don't! :)" Hasoe frowned deeper and Mistral recognized the 'not-a-fangirl-then?' face, "You know, if you're famous in The World, that's prolly why you think I may know who you are. But I'll have you know I'm married! And much too old for you, probably."

The white adept relaxed then, finally reassured she wasn't a fangirl in disguise. With a light sigh, he passed on his member address to the teenaged PC. She replied to his sigh with a grin and invited him to a party.

"So!" Mistral began, "Where do we begin? New fighting system(Oh, the horror!)? Are the areas different from R:1? And the grunties! What's changed with the grunties?" Silabus laughed into his hand as Haseo tensed up again, "Seeing as the grunties have nothing to do with areas...I guess I'll tell you about them." He sucked a breath, but Silabus interupted before he could say a word, "Don't listen to Haseo, he thinks all Grunties are spawn of the Devil. Mostly because Death Grunty calls him a Nose-hair all the time! :)"

This made the Harvest Cleric burst into a fit of giggles. Haseo, on the other hand, was not amused, "Silabus. Get back to work with the Shop, okay?" He turned back to Mistral whom grinned at him innocently, "Grunties are created by CC Corp. to act as guides for Guilds. They're made...to emulate the Guildmaster." The adept sighed as her grin turned slightly evil.

Mistral then switched it back to an innocent look, "Okay. I get that now...Area time?" She stared up at him with pleading eyes. Haseo groaned: Were puppy dog eyes a command just for female Harvest Clerics? Because, honestly, this was the third time he had met a cleric able to do that.

In the end, he ended up taking her to a Boss-type Field area, explaining the changes of the Area system once they had arrived. Afterword, he spent several hard(mostly because Mistral insisted on doing all the fighting) battles with the newbie, only to find that she was actually quiet good at games and quickly got used to the fighting system.

Mistral knew that wasn't the case, as, while they had added the skill trigger, battle area shield, and Rengeki, the rest of it was basically the same. Once the party of two came across the enemy Boss, Mistral was Level 5, the same as the area, and was content to allow Haseo to fight.

In the end, the boss didn't stand a chance.

The harvest cleric beamed at Haseo with a huge grin, "Thanks for the help, Haseo! Maybe we'll get a chance to party together again in the future! :) Though, now, I need to log off. There's a sale at the grocery store near here I need to get to!" And that was how Mistral left the silver adept, humming happily as she gated out of the area.

Haseo blinked.

"What just happened?"

* * *

It had been a hour already, but he still felt over-whelmed by the tornado of cheerful-ness known as Mistral. At times, she proved to be a very insightful woman, and others, a perky child. The Harvest Cleric was one of the most complicated people Haseo had met in a long while.

Of course, add to the fact that he had been sitting here waiting for Yata and his new division members to show up for the past half hour added on several pounds of weight. With a sight, he turned away from the entrance to the AThome to instead stare at the tapestry covering the entrance to the Serpent of Lore.

The only reason it was there was mostly to act as a sort of Chaos gate, because the Serpent of Lore was now stationed in Netslum. Raven still needed to look like someone was doing _something _to normal players, or they'd have closed down the AThome forever ago.

Haseo scratched his cheek. Honestly, CC Corp made things more complicated then they needed to be.

"Haseo?"

The white adept nearly screamed, and he would have, if he didn't have any control, "ATOLI. When did you...?" The green harvest cleric looked at him curiously, "I've been here for a while, Haseo. Oh no!" She gasped suddenly, "Did I stand in your blind spot again? I'm sorry!" If her hat wasn't attached to her PC, there was no doubt it would have flown off because of her hasty bow.

He sighed at her antics and gestured toward the tapestry, "Want to go check out the Serpent of Lore, and found out if we're late or not?" Atoli gave a light nod and followed his lead.

Of course, They were indeed late. Damn them for logging straight into Netslum and not telling him and Atoli.

The first piece of news was delievered to them in the form of a off-hand comment, "You don't really want to make a good impression on my fellows in my division, huh." Haseo had twitched angrily at that but managed to control his temper(he nearly blew up again when Kuhn said, "He didn't blow up! Someone give him a gold star!").

Haseo know focused on the two PCs he hadn't noticed earlier in the room. One was tall and had long white hair held back from his face with a small red head band. Pieces of silver armour decorated his arms, legs, and chest, making him look far more like a knight then any other PC he had seen before. The clothing beneath the armour was also silver and feathers decorated bits and pieces of both sets of covering.

The other PC was slightly younger looking and had long ginger hair. Unlike his companion, he had a wave marking covering most of his face and upper right arm. The other left arm showed off his only piece of armour, a shoulder guard. The shirt he wore was dark green and the pants a similiar, but far more blue, color. He wore a slightly cocky and flirty grin on his face as he surveyed them in turn.

Yata sighed.

"Everyone, Meet Balmung and Tian."

* * *

!NEW! Character files

Mistral; Mayumi Kurokawa; 34; Harvest Cleric; Level 5; A former player of The World R:1, as well as a .Hacker. Found a copy of R:2 in her daughter's things, and decided to give the new version a try. _Haseo_

Tian; Yasuhiko; 21; Blade Brandier; Level 27; Formerly known as 'Orca of the Azure Seas', He is a famous player from The World R:1, as well as an honoury .Hacker. Was one of the Lost Ones from 7 years ago. Works in CC Corp's new .Hacker Division.

Balmung; Daichi; 25; Blade Brandier; Level 30; Tian's Partner and formerly known as 'Balmung of the Azure Skies'. He was also a famous player from R:1 and a .Hacker. Works alongside his partner in CC Corp's .Hacker Division.

* * *

[Save Data?]

{Yes} [No]

[...Data Saved]

* * *

!New email!

Sender; Mistral

To; Haseo

Subject; Thank you! :)

Hi! Haseo!

Thank you very much for helping out today~ I apperciate it! I'd probably have ended up with some PKs on accident... :P

Bet I could've gotten out of it, though! I am a vetern from R:1, after all!

No one was anything on Mistral: The, former, Wavemaster and, current, Harvest Cleric!

Oh, and maybe we could go leveling up some time? Well, I'd be doing all the leveling up, but you get my point. :)

-Mistral!


End file.
